The Irish International Immigrant Centre (IIIC) in Boston, which offers assistance to Irish emigrants in America, reported the young woman to the US State Department.

She had written an article on the IrishCentral website documenting her life in America and how she was struggling to eke out a living by working in a bar.

She subsequently received a strongly worded letter from the IIIC stating that she had broken the rules governing the J1 intern programme and could "no longer participate in the programme".

She was told her visa had been revoked and that she should immediately arrange a flight back to Ireland before June 19.

The J1 IWT programme allows recent graduates or current students enrolled in a degree course to undertake a paid internship, related to their academic field of study with a US employer for up to 12 months.

Niall O'Dowd, who runs the Irish Voice newspaper in New York, wrote on its website Irish Central.com that he had "never seen such a callous act inflicted on a young Irish immigrant by an Irish organisation.